Hi Mark,

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 18:29:52 -0500, Mark Lipton >
wrote:

>> As promised, here is the list of menus we had at the above mentioned
>> restaurant in London's Theatreland the other day.
>
>Wow!! There is a decent chance that I will be in London next Summer.
>This sounds like a "must visit" type of place (though Jean may not speak
>to me again if she's not there with me...)

Well, we were pretty impressed as you'll have gathered.The inspiration
of the menus was truly eclectic, and the execution almost perfect, I'd
say. It's not a huge place, so early reservation would be essential.
As for Jean - she had better come too- is all I can say!

>> Sichuan spiced, soy braised squab, stir fried green beans, green
>> peppercorns, chilli jam with Hewitson 'Old Garden' Mourvedre '02
>> Barossa. match 4
>
>Did Sichuan spiced mean any sweetness?

Very slightly sweet,

> If so, I am surprised that the Mourvedre went so well. Of course, I don't know quite how an Aussie
>Mourvedre resembles a Bandol rouge (e.g.) but I assume that it was of the berryish variety...

It was pretty soft but as you say berryish. Plenty of power which was
what was needed. However, it is also fair to say that by the time I
was tasting this combination, I'dalready had 13 tastes and assessed 13
matches! With no notes, amd no spitting, it could be that my judgement
was - ahem - coloured.

>> Menu 2 ("Wicked")
>>
>> Scottish Salmon and toasted nori tempura, green tea noodles, ponzu
>> cucumber, avocado, wasabi fying fish roe. with Kim crawford Sauvignon
>> Blanc, Marlborough '03 match 5

Although the match was magnificent, the dish itself was the least
exciting of my 5, I felt. I ended up with the faint impression of a
jumble.

>> Tea smoked barbary duck, seared diver scallop, lychee and asparagus
>> salad. with Rully 'En Truffière' Vieilles vignes (white) Burgundy
>> match 4-5
>
>??? Was the duck lightly tea smoked?

Yup.

> If not, I truly can't imagine any Rully blanc standing up to the intensity of the smoke flavor. BTW, this
>was Girardin's Rully blanc? Which year, Ian?

2000. But as I said, it's like no white Burg I've ever had before.

>> Spinach and shiitake mushroom bean skin pastry, green chilli yogurt
>> sauce. with Gary Crittenden 'I' sangiovese '02 King Valley
>> match 3-4

>Aussie Sangiovese would have been further from my mind when thinking of a
>pairing with this dish. How do you think a lighter red from the S.
>Rhone would have done there?

Again, this dish was less of a success than one might have expected in
a sense. In principle Christine Manfield (australian) was trying to
create menus of increasing intensity of flavours and it's extremely
hard to do so with vegetables, which just don't have that intensity.
Given the power of the turmeric and lemongrass (sort of thai tom
yum-ish) broth, the two later dishes suffered from a slight sense of
anti climax, I felt. The wine did improve the dish slightly, hence the
/4 in the marking, but was unimproved by it, hence the 3/ part.

>Fascinating post, Ian. Thanks!

Fascinating meal. After all the wonderful TNs we get here, I owed one!
I don't do them well, however.

By the way, if you're over in London, get an a/c (free) with Harden's
on line guide beforehand, which will give you excellent info. I'm
racking up Gary Rhodes' place and "La Trompette in Chiswick for next
year. Monday we're off to the Wolseley. Yesterday it was a cheapo
roast duck and rice (best chinese roast duck in london) £4.50 a head
at the the Four Seasons in Queensway.

All the best
Ian
(To reply by email PLEASE don't use "Reply to" but
use my name at wanadoo.fr) Thanks.